Lady of Pain
The Lady of Pain is the fictional protector of the city of Sigil in the Planescape campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Creative origins The chief inspiration for the character is the 19th century poem Dolores (Notre-Dame des Sept Douleurs) (literally, Our Lady of Seven Pains), by English Decadent poet Algernon Charles Swinburne. Her image began as a doodle by Dana Knutson.Dragon #208 David "Zeb" Cook, designer of Planescape, explained: "Dana Knutson was assigned to draw anything I wanted. I babbled, and he drew – buildings, streets, characters and landscapes. Before any of us knew it, he drew the Lady of Pain. I'm very fond of the Lady of Pain; she really locks up the Planescape look. We all liked her so much that she became our logo." Troy Denning wrote the hardcover novel, Pages of Pain, in 1996: "It had to be from the Lady of Pain's viewpoint—which is something of a problem, since (as every Planescape player knows) she never speaks—and (this was the really good part) the reader must know less about her at the end of the book than he does at the beginning, and nobody knows anything about her at the beginning." Denning recalled that Pages of Pain "really made me rethink the way I approach stories, and for that reason alone it was worth writing. It also ended up being a much deeper book than I had ever written before, which I think was a result of the extreme approach I was forced to take. Those who have it seem to think it's my best work. It was certainly the most challenging and—forgive the pun—'painful' to write." Publication history The Lady of Pain was first described for the Planescape setting in the Planescape Campaign Setting (1994).Cook, David "Zeb" Planescape Campaign Setting. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1994 The Lady of Pain's role in Sigil is described in the 4th editions of both the Manual of the Planes and the Dungeon Master's Guide 2. Her appearance, function, and behavior remain mostly unaltered when compared to previous iterations. The Lady of Pain appears in the Planescape: Torment video game. Description The Lady is often seen as a floating, robed, monolithic, and gargantuan woman, with an expressionless face surrounded by a mantle of blades. The Lady is an enigma. Those who encounter her after often slain or teleported to one of her pocket universe mazes. She has complete control over all portals in her domain. The 3.5 Planar Handbook (2004) gives her alignment as lawful neutral.Cordell, Bruce and Kestrel, Gwendolyn. Planar Handbook (Wizards of the Coast, 2004) History Her true origin and history are unknown. Hellbound: The Blood War suggests she might be a renegade demon lord or Lord of the Nine.McComb, Colin, and Monte Cook. Hellbound: The Blood War. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1996 In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil states that she has been ruler of Sigil for as long as the city has existed, though she might predate the city's creation.Baur, Wolfgang and Rick Swan. In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995 The closest the Lady of Pain ever came to being overthrown was by Vecna, as one of the final steps in his plan to reshape the multiverse and make himself supreme (recounted in Die Vecna Die!). Reception Rob Bricken of Kotaku identified the Lady of Pain as one of "The 13 Strangest Deities In Dungeons & Dragons", commenting: "So technically, no one really knows if this immensely powerful entity from the D&D's Planescape setting is a god or not. That's because any time someone tries to worship her, she kills them in the most painful way possible. However, she's definitely immortal, giant, and if her shadow so much as falls on you, you will die in incredible agony." References Further reading *Baur, Wolfgang and Gwendolyn Kestrel. Expedition to the Demonweb Pits. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007. * Cordell, Bruce, and Miller, Steve. Die Vecna Die! (TSR, 2000). * Denning, Troy. Pages of Pain (TSR, 1997). * Slavicsek, Bill. Harbinger House (TSR, 1995) * Swinburne, A.C. Dolores (Notre-Dame des Sept Douleurs) (Poems and Ballads) (1866) External links * Dolores (Notre-Dame des Sept Douleurs) * Planewalker.com (the official Planescape website) Category:Dungeons & Dragons characters Category:Planescape